© Frank Blazquez
Barrios de Nuevo Mexico:
Southwest Stories of Vindication
Photography by Frank Blazquez
Exhibition dates January 11- February 1, 2018
Opening and reception, January 11, 2018, 5-7PM
Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF) is pleased to host the exhibition of Frank Blazquez's Barrios de Nuevo Mexico: Southwest Stories of Vindication at HSFF’s El Zaguán, 545 Canyon Road, from January 11 - February 1, 2018 with the opening on Friday, January 11 from 5-7pm at HSFF's El Zaguán.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:
Barrios de Nuevo Mexico: Southwest Stories of Vindication is a project that started in 2016. It incorporates a diverse collection of symbols demonstrating the obstacles and hopes buried within the marginalized communities of New Mexico. Chicano memorial tattoos, New Mexican Catholic iconography, and New Mexican portrait relics are visible throughout. Its aim is to catalyze meaningful discussion on the Latino (Chicano, Hispanic, Indo-Hispanic, Mexican, Mexican-American, Spanish) experience in New Mexico.
This endeavor is receiving national and international recognition with recent publications in HuffPost, The Guardian, Street Photography Magazine, and VICE México. Before the days of social media, portraits in living rooms, memorial photos, and personal photo books would establish common ground for conversation. This keeps Barrios de Nuevo Mexico alive--a space where New Mexicans can experience past events and rekindle past relationships.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Frank Blazquez (b. Chicago, IL) is an artist-photographer, filmmaker, and writer currently residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Immersed in the world of lenses as an ABO certified optician, Blazquez transferred his skills to the camera in 2014. Utilizing human signifiers connected to the Latino demographic of the Rio Grande, Blazquez's content illustrates today's counter-narrative in New Mexico. Describing his New Mexican photographs to The Guardian in November of 2018, Blazquez writes, "They are an attempt to capture an authentic New Mexican love story. The self-punishment, anxiety and beauty come from a place that is all too familiar for those living in this Land of Enchantment." Highlighting the people in Blazquez's street portraits, VICE México writes, "The familiarity with which he portrays them makes them close and empathetic...thus achieving a visual essay that feels as familiar as distant." Blazquez graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Mexico in 2018 with a BA in History, studying European History and photography from the FSA years in America. In relation to his still photography, Blazquez created Duke City Diaries: documentary shorts produced with UNM alum and filmmaker John Acosta. Additionally, this series is now in association with the Executive Producer and Creator of Netflix's Fightworld Colin R. Moniz. The short episodes narrate the stories of individuals living in Albuquerque and are currently viewable on YouTube or his website: www.frankblazquez.com.
For more information on the exhibition, contact Melanie McWhorter at 505-983-2567 or melanie@historicsantafe.org.